Mary McCormack Deka

Away from Shore Mary McCormack Deka

"Deka succeeds because she knows-like Michelangelo-that art is about cutting away extraneous material, and her romantic poetry avoids common pitfalls of the genre, like mawkish sentiment and wordy rambling. And she has an eye for metaphors that are unique without being flamboyant. So shooting stars are "anchors being cast down / to keep the sky / from drifting away." And love is neither rose nor battlefield; rather, it is an elephant, "tender, lumbering"; "Careful, / or it can knock you over... Humble, effective poems about love, loss, and rebirth." -Kirkus ReviewsFalling in love makes you vulnerable. For all the joy, there is danger, too, and heartbreak. Lyrical and full of imagery, these poems are bittersweet, both beautiful and haunting. This excerpt from one of the first poems, Fire, sets the tone for the rest of the book: "I took him with me, like a lantern, into the forest of my heart. And I forgotthat he was made of fire, that his touchcould make things burn."